MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

2/21 Marmol ready to go

Carlos Marmol says he’s ready for the season to start. The Cubs closer had his first live BP session Sunday at Fitch Park, and threw in brutal un-Arizona-like weather.

Some of the Cubs players did whatever they could to avoid having to face Marmol Sunday. The right-hander did plunk Reed Johnson on the left elbow with a pitch during his session. Marmol just smiled when reminded of that Monday.

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